"So, shall we begin?"
DIRECTOR: J. J. Abrams
CAST: Jack Ryan, pointy eared hipster, that shit negotiator from 'Four Lions', William Burke, Judge Dredd, Neytiri, Harold, the Russian Kyle Reese and Mickey Smith...
PLOT: The crew of the USS Enterprise are back and seemingly a little bit more experienced. This outing sees an English villain (how original!) named 'John Harrison' (Benedict Cucumber-batch) who is out to settle a mysterious vendetta against Starfleet.
Ever since J. J. Abrams, the new Hollywood golden boy, took over the colossal 'Star Trek' franchise in 2009 with a reboot that was fantastic, doing everything that a reboot should do - it kept the huge and diverse fictional universe, it kept the politics as an important subject, it promoted diversity and tolerance and most importantly, it kept the characters that so many already know and love; and the strengths often come from the interaction between the wonderful 'Enterprise' crew, and all that come into contact with it. But it also added an abundance of action, fast-paced narratives, amazing special effects, an attractive, but no less talented, cast, and tonnes of popcorn for the disposal of your general cinema-goer. It was obvious that this wasn't going to be like any past renditions of 'Star Trek' that we were used to as we watched Chris Hemsworth get blown up in the opening scene. All of a sudden, 'Star Trek' was cool.
There has been many previous Trekkies grumbling on the internet or at the closest person who cares about how "it isn't Star Trek anymore". Yes, I'll be the first to admit that it is a lot more mainstream now, that much is obvious when the screening was more busy than 'Iron Man 3', and it's not a material that is only aimed at science-fiction nerds anymore, which in my opinion is the main thing that gets so many people's knickers in a twist, as it's now aimed at a much larger and wider audience. At the end of the day, if you're going to spend almost $200 million on a film, then common sense suggests that you cannot be aiming for a niche market.
Grumblers and keyboard warriors will constantly react in the same way, just as they always do for remakes, reboots and adaptations. Just as they do when their favourite novel is adapted into a film, or if an old film is remade. Just as they did for the prequel trilogy of 'Star Wars' (the only difference is, the 'Star Trek' reboot is actually good). What these people tend to forget is that the original sources still exist. J. J. Abrams' new take on the much-loved universe isn't going to wipe the former takes out of history. Your old DVDs will not cease to work. If you prefer the wonderful original series, then go watch it. Or if you just generally enjoy a mix of great things and face the fact that everything evolves, get down to the cinema now.
So, shall we actually begin this time?
As previously mentioned, the predecessor for 'Into Darkness' was a bloody good film - it was fresh, entertaining and exciting. 'Into Darkness' may not come as close to a pleasant surprise, but that's simply because we now know what to expect. It's nice to get away from the origins story of 'Kirk' and 'Spock', which was done very well, but it just means that we can sit back and watch them all interact with one another, as that is often where much of the joy comes from. The characters have always been brilliant, ever since the sixties, and still are over 40 years on. It just shows how the original series was way before it's time, such was the talent to craft characters who are still fascinating today. The cast is so varied, entertaining and interesting - every single actor gives it their all, and every single character gets their moment to shine. When a cast is this big, it's no wonder that 'Into Darkness' has to be a fast-paced film to ensure that everyone gets their moment.
Karl Urban's 'Bones' and Simon Pegg's 'Scotty' are the two characters who are arguably given the biggest increase of screen time, much to the joy of many. All of the characters are written superbly, keeping in the same vein that makes all of them so lovable, 'Bones'' metaphors and voice of caution and 'Scotty''s wit and quick thinking especially.
Much of the best writing still comes from the relationship between Chris Pine's 'Kirk' and Zachary Quinto's 'Spock', though. Their relationship will always be an alluring one - the heart vs brain, instinct vs logic, wild passion vs caged intellect. These are the themes that are universal to all and most of us can see ourselves in both of them, preferring to be a mix of the two.
The biggest fault of 2009's 'Star Trek' was Eric Bana's 'Nero'. It wasn't a great performance and he never seemed as much of a threat or as interesting as Benedict Cum-in-my-snatch's 'John Harrison', almost the perfect being, the only person who gets under 'Kirk's' skin with alarming ease. What's most interesting is his anonymity, his moral ambiguity. Experienced Trekkies will most probably guess the big reveals and see some of the inciting incidents coming, but it still doesn't deter from the epic impact that the film brings us time and time again. His character is still drenched in mystery and Cupboard-latch plays on this, absolutely nailing the right notes and often making 'Harrison' terrifying. It's nothing new having an English villain - the accent does wonders, adding sinisterness and an air of intellect - but it's rarely done as well as this.
Away from the fantastic character studies that the film offers, it's impressive in every other aspect as well. Action scenes are at an epic scale, with large production values, frenetic pacing and expertly shot fight scenes on ground and in space. There will be many a time that you find yourself wanting to scream at the action on screen, cheering on your favourite crew member. Hairs on the back of necks will raise, edges of seats will be perched upon. A stand-out being 'Harrison' engaging in a battle against a certain alien race who will no doubt be heavily featured in the inevitable sequel.
The splendid special effects add to the visual beauty as the whole universe is realised, especially the planet in the opening sequence, which is almost a film-stealer. The 3D, despite being converted, does the film justice, and it also stopped Abrams from going overboard on the lens flares again, welcomed by all, as it would surely be assaulting to the eyes with an extra dimension. If you're close to a cinema that offers IMAX, get yourself there now, as the grand scale of it all is further highlighted.
Importantly, 'Into Darkness' took everything that made its predecessor good, and then just inflated those positives. There's more exhilarating action, more impressive effects, more character development, more comedy and more emotion to the point that I was almost moved to tears. The sequel does follow the Hollywood trend of going darker, even to the point that it's in the title, but that doesn't mean that there isn't any fun to be had here. There's an excellent balance between light-heartedness and engaging and serious darkness. Abrams is now the go-to guy for reinventing big franchises, but he still manages to keep the previously existing plus points and adds his own charms. I am now convinced that the future episodes of 'Star Wars' are in safe hands, to have Abrams at the helm to propel 'Star Wars' back to its former glory is only logical. But I would be lying if I said that I wasn't more excited for the sequel to 'Into Darkness.
It's very rare that I come out of a cinema speechless, struggling to put a film into words that justifies its entertainment. If I was to nit pick, I'd only complain that a bit more 'Uhura' would have been welcomed, and to show Alice Eve in her underwear was unnecessary - yes, we know the cast are all sexy and it's obvious beforehand that there's a mutual attraction between 'Dr. Marcus' and 'Kirk'. But those are two minor negatives in a movie of gigantic positives. All of the many remaining big-budget summer blockbusters definitely have a huge task to live up to this. Does a material that would have usually been exclusively aimed at a bunch of science-fiction nerds really have what it takes to become the biggest film of the summer? The answer is a resounding yes.
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